The Chico City Council voted 5-2 to reverse its decision to close the entire stretch of South Park Drive that runs parallel to Woodland Avenue to vehicular traffic.
In June, the Council had passed a plan to make this stretch in Lower Bidwell Park vehicle free. But car owners, residents and biking advocates all pushed back. Concerns included worsening traffic in the area, inconvenience for disabled people, and the loss of parking spaces on South Park Drive.
Ann Bykerk-Kauffman, a planning commissioner and founding member of Chico Safe Streets Coalition, said the potential loss of right-of-way for cyclists and pedestrians and the installation of maze gates were the biggest problems with the plan.
Councilmember Tom van Overbeek made a motion to reconsider the decision at a July meeting after the plan received significant negative feedback. At the Aug. 19 meeting, van Overbeek explained why he changed his mind.
“I realized I had this wrong,” van Overbeek said. “There’s a component of history and tradition about the way people use the park. It’s one of the defining characteristics of the town.”
Van Overbeek said that what he heard most from the community was that Option 4—which requires repaving without any other changes—was what people wanted.
Councilmember Addison Winslow challenged van Overbeek to explain further his thinking.
“Is there any actual reason you think this is better for safety, for enjoying the park, or is it just that you heard there are a lot of public objections?” Winslow asked.
Van Overbeek responded: “There is another reality, which is the subjective reality—how people feel about things, how they use the park.”
Seventeen people spoke during the public comment session. Most of them expressed opposition to closing the entire stretch to vehicles. Several noted that the previous decision had been made without solid data to back it up. Some mentioned that the proposed changes would cause people to lose “a sense of Chico.”
“Part of the plan for getting cars out is to put in maze gates, to change the right of way, which will suddenly pose a lot of obstacles in the way of bicyclists,” said Ann Bykerk-Kauffman.
She believes the most important thing is to ensure pedestrian and cyclist safety when vehicles enter from driveways that intersect with South Park Drive. Bykerk-Kauffman suggested closing only the part of South Park Drive between Cypress and the driveway to One Mile Recreation Area.
“There is no parking there, there is no reason for a car to go on that [part of the] road,” she said. “I can totally understand why people want to drive on the rest [of South Park Drive] because there are parking spots.”
Councilmember Bryce Goldstein suggested the Council include traffic calming and better signage in the new motion if the Council moved forward with the simplest option, Option 4.
“Let’s make sure we don’t lose the opportunity to make the park’s roads safer, to add speed bumps, signage, just a few smaller fixes we can use to address any issues that exist now or maybe will exist as more people move into our community,” Goldstein said.
Van Overbeek moved to adopt Option 4 that involves a simple road repave without changing motor vehicle access, and to meanwhile direct City staff to look at traffic calming measures, like more speed limit signs.
Councilmember Katie Hawley and Winslow, who supported the closure to vehicles, voted against the motion. Van Overbeek’s motion passed with support from Mayor Kasey Reynolds, Vice Mayor Dale Bennett and councilmembers Bryce Goldstein and Mike O’Brien.
Yucheng Tang is a California Local News fellow reporting for ChicoSol.